Highlights from ASH 2015 by Alan Burnett, MD on acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

Alan Burnett, MD from Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK discusses the new technology developments in the field of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2015 Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. He primarily discusses the use of genomic testing to provide a more accurate prognosis with conventional treatment, and the development of companion diagnostics (i.e. gene signatures that can help predict a response to a particular treatment). Other technologies discussed are the improvements on flow cytometry and its use in disease monitoring, in particular, we can now have a closer look at minimal residual disease. On the clinical side, Prof Burnett discusses the importance of the Phase III RATIFY clinical trial that looks at the use of the drug midostaurin in newly-diagnosed FLT3-mutated AML patients.